The adventures of the owners, artists and visitors at the coolest art gallery in Edinburgh. Union Gallery is owned and managed by artist Alison Auldjo, and aims to bring the best contemporary art to the public, with particular emphasis on work not regularly seen elsewhere.

Saturday, 18 February 2012

You might have noticed that, over the past few weeks, we have been blogging paintings by James Newton Adams, accompanied by poems written by Iain Finlay Mcleod. I think it's time to explain.....

Writer, poet and award-winning film director Iain Finlay Mcleod spent time last summer as writer in residence for the Cromarty Arts Trust. Whilst there, he produced a series of poems in his native Gaelic tongue, which artist James Newton Adams then used as the basis for a series of beautiful paintings. Entitled 'The Cromarty Series', these works were then exhibited in Cromarty, and we are delighted to now have them at UG as part of our current exhibition, Poetic Licence. The work is extremely effective, and the poems and paintings compliment each other superbly. The Cromarty Arts Trust said: "We think the poems and images capture the essence of life in Cromarty in a beautiful way". Praise indeed.

So, if you've been to Cromarty and want to be reminded of its charms, or if you've never been but would like to know more about it, UG is the place to be until 27 February.

Tuesday, 14 February 2012

Well I'm afraid it's that time of year again folks. There's no escaping Valentines Day!

Here at UG we believe that it's no more than a tasteless commercial frenzy, from which the likes of Tesco do very well indeed.
So, to counteract the tat we thought we'd highlight a couple of gems from our current exhibition, Poetic Licence, that are truly heartfelt, classic, and that will certainly stand the test of time:

'Home Is when I'm Alone With You', mixed media, by Imogen Alabaster.With a title taken from the lovely song 'Home', by Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros', this is a beautiful little painting that gets its message across without submitting us to dreadful commercial sentimentalism.

You have until February 27th to come in and have a look at this wonderful exhibition.

Thursday, 2 February 2012

He’s not looking my way.
I know why!
Look at this beauty
and his creels are empty
And the village is watching
I knew it, I said
I’ve hooked this monster before
But people never believe
a man with his feet on the ground
will amount to much.
Get the chips on, darling
I’m king of the world.